Before installing the new pad, wrap the butt of the stock with at least two layers of masking tape to protect the finish. The tape should lay flat with no wrinkles. If the tape extends over the end of the butt because of the taper of the stock, don't worry about it. You can always carefully trim excess tape with your razor knife. Make sure your tape extends back at least 3 inches from the end of the stock.

When sanding the pad down to the Scotch tape, Coffield uses sandpaper backed by a flat file.

With the tape in place, attach the new pad to the stock. Thread the screws into the newly cut slots up to the screw heads then quickly push the heads though the face of the pad with a Phillips screwdriver.

For grinding the pad I use a 12-inch disk sander with a 60-grit sanding disk. I generally grind the heel and toe areas first and then blend in the sides. I work slowly and never try to grind away a lot of material quickly. There's no magic involved. It's slow, dirty work. Keep the surface of the stock parallel to the surface of the sander as you work. Sand the pad down until the disk just lightly touches the top layer of masking tape.

Once you have done this all the way around the stock, stop and remove the outer layer of tape. Now carefully sand the side of the pad down until the disk just barely touches this last layer of tape. Don't get heavy handed and grind through the tape and scratch the stock. When you have the side of the pad even with the tape all around the stock you are ready to move to the next step.

Remove all the remaining masking tape. You should be able to feel a "lip" on the recoil pad where it meets the stock. This lip is about equal to the thickness of the masking tape, which is approximately .004 inch thick. To remove this lip without scratching the stock, apply a single layer of Scotch tape around the stock next to the pad. This tape is about half the thickness of the masking tape and will allow you to further reduce the lip on the base of the pad to about .002 inch.

You can go back to your grinder, but I would encourage you to do this final sanding with a strip of 120-grit sandpaper backed by a file. While you may want to stop at that point, if your hand is steady you can remove the tape and make one last pass or so without any protection for the stock. In the end your pad will be an almost perfect match to the stock with no perceptible lip or overhang.

The more pads you install, the faster, easier, and more attractive your work will be.

Until next time, good luck and good gunsmithing!